Former PANTERA Bassist REX BROWN Talks About Making Of 'Far Beyond Driven' (Video)

December 9, 2013

2014 will mark the 20th anniversary of PANTERA's seventh album, "Far Beyond Driven", and the band is planning to re-release a special edition for fans. Bassist Rex Brown spoke with Artisan News and shared what he remembered about making this essential LP. Check out the report below.

Former PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo chatted about "Far Beyond Driven" with Artisan News saying, "Considering its contents, it is the heaviest record to come in at No. 1, and yes, there is a fucking goddamn re-release coming up. I don't know anything, really, about it other than, yes, it's gonna re-released with live footage from said show, but I can't name the show yet, because I think it's a fight between two different shows. And you never know. I'm trying to think of specialties or whatnot that will be included as well."

Anselmo went on to discuss the band's success saying, "The chemistry within PANTERA... In the early days, they were very guarded about what I said here and there. And then, finally, by 'Vulgar Display Of Power', it was, like, 'Just let me handle the lyrics.' And then by 'Far Beyond Driven', I was saying anything I fucking wanted to fucking really fucking sing about, man."

The 20th-anniversary reissue of "Vulgar Display Of Power" sold 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 48 on The Billboard 200 chart. This is more than double the first-week tally registered by the 20th-anniversary reissue of PANTERA's classic "Cowboys From Hell" LP, which debuted at No. 117 in September 2010 with sales of 4,200.

Upon its original release, "Vulgar Display Of Power" peaked at No. 44 on The Billboard 200 and spent a total of 77 weeks on the chart, the most weeks any PANTERA album spent on the list.

Asked about how he views "Vulgar Display Of Power" 20 years later, Anselmo said, "'Vulgar Display Of Power' is probably… It's up there as one of my favorite freaking PANTERA records. And honestly, considering its timing, considering our ages, our mindsets, it was a very important record that… There were struggles, but they were in the long run a footnote, a memory, because the overall product delivered."

Regarding what made "Vulgar Display Of Power" so special, Anselmo said, "The production. Heavy metal was going through a lot of different change as far as production goes. And we were brought with Terry Date [producer] and Vinnie Paul [Abbott, drums]… genius in the studio… With Terry Date, him and Dimebag [Darrell Abbott, guitar] really, really, really just drilling it. Rex was, like, automatic. Back then, Rex was just… Oh my God, it was easy. He'd zip through it and nail it. And really, with chops and licks and what-not."

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